PREAMBLE
It's time for the White Sox to turn the chapter from rebuild to trying to compete... which they haven't been able to do since we had White Sox legend, Ken Griffey Jr. Luckily though, this offseason brings forward a lot of players that the Sox can bring in to actually be better (and they don't have to be 35+ years old)! One thing I'm going to try and keep in mind is that front office wizard, Rick Hahn, has suggested that the White Sox are more likely to add players via trade over free agency.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Alex Colomé, $10.3M: NONTENDER. Better pitchers can be signed for a similar price.
- Yolmer Sánchez, $6.2M: NONTENDER
- James McCann, $4.9M: TENDER
- Carlos Rodon, $4.5M: NONTENDER
- Leury García, $4M: TENDER
- Evan Marshall, $1.3M: TENDER
- Josh Osich, $1M: NONTENDER
- Ryan Goins, $900K: NONTENDER
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” after the option.
- Welington Castillo: $8 million/$500,000 buyout: DECLINE PLS
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, or let go?
- Jose Abreu (made $16M in 2019): Re-sign for 2 years/$30 million
- Iván Nova (made $9,166,167 in 2019): 2019 James Shields gotta go.
- Jon Jay (made $4M in 2019): Let go cause he's got a new hip or something
- Hector Santiago (made $2M in 2019 on split contract): Minor league deal seems cool to me
FREE AGENTS
RP Will Smith: 3 years/$36 million. Remember when I said better pitchers can be had for similar money? This is the better pitcher for similar money. He strikes out more and walks less guys than Colome. This is a sturdy choice for a future closer.
RP/SP Collin McHugh: 2 years/$12 million. Shoutout to Josh for reminding me of his arm injury. Regardless, I think this is a worthy risk. If he's healthy, this is a quality piece they can plug into the bullpen or the rotation. This hopefully avoids people like Covey starting again. As long as he can pitch this season, he makes me comfortable moving on from Rodon.
C Martin Maldonado: 1 year/$2.5 million. This is seeming like a popular choice for a backup catcher. It's cheap, and Maldonado does a lot of things averagely behind the plate.
SP Jake Odorizzi: 3 years/$33 million. When it comes to pitchers for an affordable price that the White Sox would probably target, Odorizzi seems to be the best. He's also has had success in the AL Central, so that's a boost.
DH J.D. Martinez: 3 years/$75 million. I didn't initially have Martinez in here, but as I got near the end, I noticed the money I saved by going for some mid-tier guys, or people in early arb years via trade. Josh broke down why the White Sox should bring in Martinez the best way possible, so here is that. Martinez can be a great influence, not just from his play, but from how much he can help his teammates.
TRADES
Trade Reynaldo Lopez and Luis Gonzalez to the Mets for OF Brandon Nimmo.
Nimmo isn't coming off the best year since he was mainly hurt, but he showed the same skill this season as the White Sox need: he gets on base. Nimmo plays a solid corner OF, and he's a quality bat (posting a 148 WRC+ in 2018, 114 in 2019). This trade works for the Mets because they're going to likely lose Wheeler, so Lopez can help fill the hole on their roster, whether it's in the bullpen or rotation. Gonzalez also gives them a CF prospect, rather than a corner outfield one where they have a glut of talent right now. Trading Lopez makes sense for the White Sox because if they're going to bring in 2 starting pitchers, clearly someone is getting left out.
Trade Dane Dunning, Jace Fry, and Luis Alexander Basabe to the Dodgers for P Ross Stripling.
Ross Stripling is definitely a guy who can step in to the starting rotation, and similar to McHugh, he can be a quality piece in the bullpen as well. As I feel like we're seeing more and more with quality teams, versatility is important. McHugh and Stripling allow the White Sox to be more flexible in their rotation and bullpen, while not breaking the bank.
SUMMARY
Total Payroll: Approx. $108 million
LINEUP AFTER SERVICE TIME ABUSE:
C: McCann
1B: Abreu
2B: Madrigal
SS: Anderson
3B: Moncada
LF: Jimenez
CF: Robert
RF: Nimmo
DH: Martinez
BENCH: Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, Danny Mendick, and Martin Maldonado
Rotation:
SP: Giolito
SP: Odorizzi
SP: Stripling
SP: Kopech
SP: Cease
Bullpen:
Will Smith
Kelvin Herrera
Aaron Bummer
Jimmy Cordero
Collin McHugh
Ryan Burr
Tyler Johnson
Evan Marshall
This payroll is obviously one that is going to increase over time by bringing in early-arb players, plus the extensions of Giolito, Robert, and Moncada hopefully coming up. The bonus? This lineup can mash the ball, mainly outside of Madrigal. It puts the White Sox in a position to compete for a postseason spot, while also giving them some pay flexibility if someone like Will Smith will actually command more money. If the White Sox want to show they're serious, it's time to spend some money, and try to get creative if they don't in some positions.
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